How to clean/preserve dug aircraft bits???

[Theodor]

Hi guys,

What will be your advice for cleaning and preserving small bits, dug from a crash site? Yes, they are pieces of junk, but I want to preserve them as much as possible!

The alumium parts are easy, some warm water removes the dust and that's all, no problems.

But what about the iron parts??? Some are just tin, others are pipes and parts of some mechanisms. Also a 20 mm round /yep, Me-109.../. What to do with them??? They are rusating very badly. Water is a bad idea, isn't it? How about diesel? Or even better, WD-40?

[Theodor]

Here is what I am talking about: very rusty round, even more rusty case, a piece of tin, a... m,echanism... or whatever.... Thick rust, what will be best - water, diesel, ordinary oil or penetrating oil like the WD-40?

[Simon O.]

First wash them in soap and water and use something like a scrubbing brush or old toothbrush to remove dirt and loose rust. After that use a steel brush if needed (i've also used a brass brush in the past but it tends to leave a brassy colour behind) to get more of the rust off. Wash them again then use Owatrol oil to stop them rusting further. You should be able to find Owatrol at hardware stores or sometimes ships chandlers (boat stuff).

For larger more solid items you could also try electrolysis first. It works great but shouldn't be done on items with any paint you want to preserve.

[Theodor]

Thanks Simon! And what if leave the thick rust - would the part further deteriorate in normal humidity, room conditions?

[Simon O.]

I guess it will deteriorate further. My stuff does if i don't do something about it. Definitely get rid of the dirt and loose rust though. Sometimes you'd be surprised how much detail remains under it all, waffenamt stamps, makers marks etc.

[BadBob]

Stove polish or stove black might be good once any debris is removed. It will blacken the metal, but it's just carbon and can be easily removed if you didn't like the result. To me it would look better than oily rust.

[cbuehler]

I would recommend doing as little as possible. Just removing the dirt and stopping any active rust is all. On really delicate and rusted items I have used a clear matte spray sealant to keep them from falling apart.
These are relics and in my opinion should look it. They have more "feeling" to them if left as close to found condition as possible.

CB

[Theodor]

Hi CB, I think I'd stick to that tactic. Tried washing, oiling and etc. a couple of small bits, to see what would work. Seems exactly that's the way, only a little cleaning